Final Assesment for Vanishing Acts (8 Quotes)

Quotes:

1)"You can't exist in the world without leaving a piece of yourself behind" (Picoult 1).
This quote is the first sentence of the book, and the underlying theme throughout the entire novel. This is a very profound statement because it's one hundred percent true. Everyone touches the world in some way or another, whether its something as small as picking an apple from a tree, to something as large as rallying for women's suffrage.

2)"'Andrew Hopkins?' the second officer says. "We have a warrant for your arrest as a fugitive from justice, in conjunction with the kidnapping of Bethany Matthews'" (Picoult 25).
The significance of this quote is that this was the moment when Delia's life changed forever. She no longer knows who she really is, nor who she maybe once was. It makes her question the people and realtionships in her life. Who can she trust? Who is her real family? This event is the basis of the plot, and, therefore, I believe it is of great importance.

3)"I don't know which one of us reaches for the other, but suddenly I am in her arms, a place that I had to imagine my entire life. Her hands run over my hair and my back, as if she were trying to make sure I'm real. I try to narrow my mind to a sliver of recognition, but it's hard to know whether this feels familiar because I remeber it, or because I so badly want to" (Picoult 138)
This passage relates the reunion between Delia and her mother, after 28 years of being apart. This is the moment Delia has dreamed of her entire life, the moment of knowing her mother existed. I can relate to this quote in that sometimes I want so bad to believe something, that it starts to become true in my mind, even if it's unrealistic or incorrect. Delia does the same thing with embracing her mother. She wants it to be familiar so bad, that she starts thinking she recognizes it.

4)"'Eric,' Delia asks, 'did my father say anything else about me?' Her question is clear as a bell; the cell phone reception is crystalline. But I hold the phone away from my ear. I make static noises. 'Dee, can you hear me? I'm going under some power lines...' 'Eric?' 'I'm losing you,' I say, and I hang up while she is still talking" (Picoult 181).
This quote jumped out at me right away. I noticed at once that it is a perfect example of symbolism of Delia and Eric's relationship. When Eric says "I'm losing you" he means he's losing her (supposedly) on the line, but I take it to mean he's losing her relationship wise. Plus, once you start lying to your spouse about anything, well, that can't be good. This event foreshadows troubles to come in their relationship.

5)"When you're a parent you find yourself looking at the unknown that is your child, trying to find a piece of yourself inside her, because sometimes that is what it takes to stake a claim. I remember watching you making muddy nixtures in the sandbox, and wondering if a love of chemistry was something you might be born with. I remember listening to your tearful recollection of the monster in your nightmare, trying to see whether it resembled me" (Picoult 54).
I really like this quote because it helped me realize that Andrew really is a good man and a good father. He cares enough about Delia to worry about scaring her away, by being the monster she sees in her dreams. He doesn't want to be that man, he doesn't want to lose her love. I thought this quote was really powerful and it was definitely one I remembered through out the book. This quote shows Andrew's true character, and, in the end, proves to be a perfect description of the only family Delia really has. Family is not a matter of blood, but of relationships cherished forever, family is about love.

6)"What is right, in the end, is not always what it seems to be, and some rules are better broken. But what about when those rules happen to be laws?" (Picoult 261).
I feel like this passage is also one of the bases of the book. It is one of the themes presented continuously throughout the book. Eric is forced to choose between the law and the best interests of his family. He chooses to go with his family, even if it means breaking some of the rules. This passage is important because it brings this idea into light for the readers, helping them to recognize the conflicts faced by characters (law vs. what's really right) in later parts of the book.

7)"Eric kisses me so tenderly that it unravels me. I kiss him back, trying to find the same depth of faith. I kiss him back, although I can still taste Fitz, like a stolen candy tucked high against my cheek, sweet when I least expect it" (Picoult 285).
The significance of this quote is that it basically sums up the confusing feelings and relationships between Fitz, Eric, and Delia. Fitz loves Delia and wants her as his wife, but he also is best friends with Eric, who is engaged to Delia. If asked to choose between the two, Fitz would say he couldn't decide. The realtionships with each of them are so strong, that living wihtout either one of them would be impossible. Here it seems Delia also has some feelings toward Fitz, but she feels committed to Eric because of Sophie and the fact that they are engaged. Delia compares Fitz to stolen candy, like he was this relief from reality. However, she also wants to be loyal to Eric as shown when her thoughts read "trying to find the same depth of faith". She wants to be as loyal to Eric as he is to her.

8)"'In the case of The State of Arizona versus Andrew Hopkins, we find the defendant not guilty'" (Picoult 411).
This is the resolution of the story, the final statement that frees Andrew from all charges and gives him his life back. This verdict allows Delia and Andrew to start from fresh, leaving no secrets between them. Delia has discovered who her true family is, who her true father is, and that's Andrew. Now they can go home and just start over, which is what they both really need.

Vanishing Acts V

All The Pretty Horses

I didn't think I was going to like this book at first, but I will say it is getting better as the story develops. If I hadn't been reading this for school, i probably would've given up on it at page thirty. I'm very confused about Blevins' character. I don't know whether to think of him as one of the good guys or one of the bad guys. He doesn't seem like a bad person, he just seems like a magnet for trouble. The one thing I can't get my head around is that he killed THREE people. He says that it was in self defense, but it seems John Grady and Rawlins don't buy it. I just don't know what to think about him. Another thing that's confusing me is what actually happened to Rawlins when he was questioned by the captain guard? Did he just get beat up or is there more behind it? And why didn't they beat up John Grady in the same manner? Are these authorative figures real, or are they fake, bad cops? These are all questions that arose while I was reading this particular section. And one more thing, I don't understand flippin' spanish!!!! It's very annoying when there's a whole conversation in spanish and no one bothers to explain what's being said! I really hope i'm not missing anything important, but what can you do? Anyways, thats all.

Vanishing Acts IV

Just for practice, I am going to analyze a passage from my outside reading book, Vanishing Acts, using the TWIST method.

"The three of us walk outside, where it is still cold enough for the promises we are making to crystallize in the air. Eric heads to my car and tucks Delia into the passenger seat, leaning close to speak to her for a moment out of my range of hearing. I imagine him telling her that he loves her, that he will miss her, that when he closes his eyes on the plane her face will be what rises inside of him--all the things I would be saying to her, in his place" (Picoult 68)

Tone: longing, jealousy, regretfull

Word Choice: Picoult's word choice helps reveal Fitz's true feelings kept secretly hidden from his friends. Words and phrases like, "leaning close", "imagine", "rises inside of him", "would", and "in his place". The use of the word "imagine" hints to readers that, for Fitz, being able to say these things to Delia is only a dream, a secret longing to have what Eric has. Also, the use of the word "tucks" brings on a comforting feeling, it reassures the reader that everything will be okay.

Imagery: The first sentence depicts how cold it is outside using language like "cold" and "crystallize", so that the reader can easily feel the setting and relate to it. Other phrases like "leaning close" and "tucks delia into the passsenger seat" are very straight-forward and give a clear picture of the characters' actions.

Style: Picoult uses a very common style of writing. She is very straight-forward, yet descriptive. She uses a lot of irony to make her stories unpredictable, and really develops her characters and what they are feeling. She makes her characters relateable to her audience.

Thematic Ideas: regret, confusion, love

All The Pretty Horses

The book we are reading in class is called All The Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy. We recently learned how to use the TWIST method when analyzing a particular passage. T stands for tone, W for word choice, I for imagery, S for style, and T for theme or thematic idea. Here is an example of the TWIST method used to help analyze the following passage...

"The western sections ran into the Sierra de Anteojo to elevations of nine thousand feet but south and east the ranch occupied part of the broad barrial or basin floor of the bolson and was well watered with natural springs and clear streams and dotted with marshes and shallow lakes or lagunas. In the lakes and in the streams were species of fish not known elsewhere on earth and birds and lizards and other forms of life as well all long relict here for the desert stretched away on every side" (McCarthy 97)

Tone: mysterious, new and unknown, content

Word Choice: words like "clear", "species...not known", "on earth", and "stretched" help to express the author's tone. No sad words are used and its as if this description of John Grady and Rawlins' new home presents them with a new beginning. A fresh start, full of mystery and change.

Imagery: the word choice presented above help the author to create imagery for his readers. The use of very descriptive run-on sentences (style) help the reader become immersed into the setting, so as they can almost picture it. The imagery is also somewhat mysterious and new, enough is revealed that one can clearly picture the setting, but some is also hidden to make the readers want to learn more about this new land.

Style: McCarthy has a particular style to his writing where he lacks much punctuation, and uses a lot of run-on sentences. This style is hard to get used to, but after a while the words just flow and bring the reader deeper into the story, and soon you don't even notice the lack of punctuation.

Thematic ideas: mystery, adventure, a new beginning

Connections Between O'Brother and The Odyssey

There were many similsrities between the movie O' Brother Where Art Thou and Homer's classic epic The Odyssey. Well obviously there would be because the movie is based off of the book. Here's a list of some of them:

Book---- Movie
Return from Trojan War (journey begins)---- Escape from chain gang (fugitives on the run)
Cyclops shows hospitality ----Man with eye-patch invites them to picnic
Cyclops shows brutallity (kills men)---- Man with eye-patch kills "Pete"
Sirens attempt to enchant Odysseus---- Singing women seduce the men
Circe turns men into pigs ----Singing women supposedly turn Pete into frog
Poseidon causes trouble for Odysseus---- Policeman with the glasses hunts them
Suitors court Penelope ----Everett's wife gets engaged to another man
Prophet reveals bird signs---- Blind railcar man helps out and prophesizes
Suitors want to kill Telemachus---- Tommy in trouble with KKK
Odysseus kills suitors ----Everett out-fames his wife's new fiance
Odysseus reaches Ithaca (reward) ----Everett becomes famous and get's wife back

Vanishing Acts III

Perhaps my prediction was wrong. It seems as if Eric really is a good guy and that he had absolutely nothing to do with the kidnapping. In fact, when Andrew (Delia's dad) wanted to plead guilty in court for the kidnapping, Eric, as his attourney, tried to persuade him not to do so. Andrew begins to confess to Eric, but Eric will not let him say anything more because he wants to believe that Andrew is not guilty. Eric knows that if Andrew confesses too much, or anything at all, his case will go down the toilet. Eric has only his family's interests at heart, especially Delia's. She is struggling to come to terms with everything that has happened with her father. Her best friend Fitz brings her old articles on herself and on Bethany Matthews. Apparently, Bethany Matthews was a little 4-year old girl who went missing the same time that a 4-year old girl named Cordelia Hopkins died in a car accident. Delia comes to the conclusion that she actually might be another person, Bethany Matthews, and that her mother may actually still be alive. This thought frightens her and forces her to ask the question: Who am I? Everyone is very confused and troubled at this time. Eric is torn between being a good lawyer by following through with Andrew's request to plead guilty and being a good son-in-law and husband. Eric wants to have Andrew plead not guilty because he feels that the prosecution doesn't have enough evidence to support their case and he really doesn't want Andrew to go to jail leaving behind Delia and his grandaughter Sophie. Delia is torn between who she really is, also whether or not to believe the charges made against Andrew. Finally, Fitz is torn between finding the truth and hurting Delia even more.